Maple Leafs to face depleted Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins could be without star Evgeni Malkin, who was injured on Saturday night against the Detroit Red Wings, when they host the Maple Leafs on Monday night. (Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports)

Related Stories

Several hours before the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers were scheduled to kick off their Sunday night football game on the frozen turf of Heinz Field, the elevator at a local hotel was about to whisk a bunch of us up to our rooms when a mean-looking hombre in a spiffy suit jumped on board.

It was James Harrison.

The same James Harrison who was the NFL’s defensive player of the year in 2008 while playing for the local Pittsburgh Steelers.

The same James Harrison who joined the Bengals during the off-season and was about to play at Heinz Field for the first time in a Bengals jersey.

After politely declining the requests of some fans to take photos with him, Harrison jumped off on the second floor to attend a team pre-game meeting.

No sooner had he departed than a nice-looking couple in their 30s looked over with curious grins on each of their faces.

“Excuse us,” they said, “but who was that?”

Really?

Here in western Pennsylvania, where football is a religion, you honestly don’t know who James Harrison is?

If that’s the case, you certainly couldn’t identify a significant chunk of the lineup that will be iced by the Pittsburgh Penguins when they face off against the Maple Leafs on Monday night at the Consol Energy Center.

Oh, sure, Sidney Crosby will be there, wearing his trademark black and gold and attempting to carry his team in any way it needs to be. And he’ll be flanked by his familiar linemates in Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis, who will be looked upon to help Sid The Kid carry the offensive load.

After that, well, for those who don’t follow the Pens closely, you might not be able to tell the names without a program — or, at least a tablet that can access hockeydb.com via Google.

You have to give Penguins coach Dan Bylsma a lot of credit. That he has been able to keep his Pens on the winning track is a testament to his belief in the team’s system, not to mention his mindset not to make excuses.

The biggest concern revolves around star centre Evgeni Malkin, who fell awkwardly into the boards in the third period during a 4-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday and was seen limping slighty around the dressing room after the game. He was scheduled to be re-examined on Sunday here in Pittsburgh.

Whatever Malkin’s issues are, the Pens know they definitely will be without sniper James Neal, who is still serving a suspension for kneeing Boston superpest Brad Marchand in the head.

The Pens are even thinner on the back end, where they could be missing each of their top four defencemen when they go up against Randy Carlyle’s squad.

When blueline scoring machine Kris Letang sat out the victory in Detroit with an upper body injury, he joined Brooks Orpik (concussion), Paul Martin (lower body) and Rob Scuderi (ankle) on the sidelines.

As a result, the Pens defensive pairings against the Leafs could be Olli Maatta-Matt Niskanen, Deryk Engelland-Simon Despres and Brian Dumoulin-Robert Bortuzzo. Engelland is facing an in-person hearing for a hit to the head on Detroit’s Justin Abdelkader on Wednesday, so who knows what his status is.

Up front, the Pens likely will use the likes of Jayson Megna, Chris Conner, Joe Vitale and Zack Sill, certainly not household names to the average Leaf fan.

Let’s be honest here. Any team with Crosby leading the way is as formidable an opponent as you’ll find in the National Hockey League. Still, between all the injuries and suspensions, the Leafs have the opportunity of taking advantage of a depleted Pittsburgh roster.

Of course, given their inconsistent Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality this season, nothing is ever certain where the Leafs are concerned.

KUNITZ ON CANADA’S RADAR

Chris Kunitz is proving to be Sidney Crosby’s able sidekick, much in the same role that Robin served for Batman.

But will it be enough to get Kunitz a spot on Team Canada alongside Sid The Kid? After all, he is on pace to finish the season with 42 goals, which certainly would rank him among the league leaders.

For his part, Team Canada coach Mike Babcock was not showing his hand regarding the Olympic roster during a conversation with reporters over the weekend.

“When you look at (the Pens), they do have a lot of good things and have quality players,” Babcock said. “They have two of the best centres in the league, maybe one and two. And Kunitz is obviously having a very good year.

“Let’s take Team Canada out of it. Who would you watch if you were playing Pittsburgh? I’ll get a chance to watch them (Crosby and Kunitz).”

Sponsored Links

Maple Leafs to face depleted Penguins

Several hours before the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers were scheduled to kick off their Sunday night football game on the frozen turf of Heinz Field, the elevator at a local hotel was about to whisk a bunch of us up to our rooms when a mean-looking hombre in a spiffy suit jumped on board.

It was James Harrison.

The same James Harrison who was the NFL’s defensive player of the year in 2008 while playing for the local Pittsburgh Steelers.

The same James Harrison who joined the Bengals during the off-season and was about to play at Heinz Field for the first time in a Bengals jersey.

After politely declining the requests of some fans to take photos with him, Harrison jumped off on the second floor to attend a team pre-game meeting.

No sooner had he departed than a nice-looking couple in their 30s looked over with curious grins on each of their faces.